SA outback nurse's death - what happened

* March 23 2016: Outback nurse Gayle Woodford, 56, is last seen on South Australia's Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, with her disappearance prompting a search. About the same time as Ms Woodford goes missing an ambulance she used for work is driven from a local health clinic.

* March 24 2016: Police use GPS data to track the ambulance and intercept it in Coober Pedy. The 36-year-old Mimili man behind the wheel, Dudley Davey, is charged with the theft of the vehicle and other driving offences.

* March 26 2016: Ms Woodford's body is found in a shallow grave outside the remote SA town of Fregon where she lived. Calls emerge for greater safety provisions for remote health clinicians, with an online petition collecting more than 130,00 signatures.

* March 27 2016: Davey is charged with Ms Woodford's murder.

* March 29 2016: Davey makes his first appearance at the Port Augusta Magistrates Court, losing a bid to have his name suppressed.

* February 23 2017: Davey pleads guilty to murder and rape charges and is committed to the Supreme Court.